hings changed when he was laid off from his
job at a Michigan school district in June 2008 amid the nation's worst
recession in decades. He quickly found that he was unable to land
another job that paid enough to afford child care for the baby he and
his wife were expecting.A former colleague
offered to lend him some computer and video equipment. Owen, who had a
background in videography, used it to produce a couple of corporate
videos. That eventually led to work as a wedding videographer.These
days, the 27-year-old runs Owen Video out of his home in Okemos, Mich.,
primarily shooting weddings on the weekends and caring for his
1-year-old daughter most weekdays.“I love it,” Owen said. “I never thought I would, but I love it.”With
unemployment hovering at 10 percent and the economy still shedding
jobs, many would-be employees have concluded that the best way forward
is to go into business for themselves, whether they want to or not.Call
them accidental entrepreneurs. Some find themselves surprised to
discover they enjoy the freedom and fulfillment of being their own
boss. But many are being overwhelmed by the challenge of becoming their
own HR person, billing department, construction foreman and IT expert.